Tuesday, March 27, 2007

"Just Vote For the Bitch"

That's the slogan printed on T-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers promoting the candidacy of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Perhaps I have finally turned into the much-criticized humorless feminist, but I am nothing but disgusted by this. Can you imagine Edwards T-shirts that say "Just Vote For the Faggot"? Or how about Obama T-shirts that say "Just Vote For the Terrorist"? If you can, your imagination is the only place you'll see these shirts. Because to print them would be offensive, yes?

Diane,I see your point, and yet, I don't know why, but I thought it was sort of transgressively amusing. Again, I don't disagree with or question your reaction, it just hit me differently. Maybe it's the allergy medicine? Seriously, if Obama supporters here in South Carolina distributed buttons that said, "Come on, vote for a black guy for once!" or something similar I'd probably think that was funny (in a good way) too. I see this slogan as mocking sexism, but I totally understand there are a variety of possible reactions.

I would see it as mocking sexism, too, if I believed the people who made up the slogan were that hip. My gut tells me they aren't, and I hope I'm wrong.

Of course, now I have to ask myself: Where is this instinct coming from? And the only answer I can give is that none of the other slogans on shirts on any of these sites is hip or ironic. They are, in fact, rather mundane, or even stupid.